694 



CAULIFLOWER 



CAULIFLOWER 



intolerance to heat, it is grown in the open so as to take 

 advantage of the cool seasons of early spring and 

 autumn. It is one of those crops, therefore, which is 

 less adaptable than those having a greater range of 

 heat-endurance. If the season happens to be favorable 

 the amateur may have good luck, but if the season 

 proves severe the most expert grower may fail. 



A rich loamy soil, thoroughly charged with available 

 plant-food is suited to this plant. Light thin sandy 

 soils or those extremely heavy and retentive are, as a 

 rule, not well suited for this crop. The soil should be 

 one which does not dry out quickly but which will 

 furnish the plants a constant supply of moisture. 

 High-grade cauliflower is quite as dependent upon 

 careful handling of the plants and a constantly avail- 

 able supply of moisture as high-grade celery. Among 

 the fertilizers, none is better than well-decomposed 

 manure from the horse-stable, thoroughly incorporated 

 with the soil at the time of preparing it for the crop. 



If commercial fertilizers are necessary, quick-acting 

 ones are most desirable, except it is thought that sul- 

 fate of potash is preferable to muriate. The nitrogen- 

 content of the fertilizer, however, should be in the 

 form of nitrate of soda or sulfate of ammonia rather 

 than in a slow-acting form. If a fertilizer is to be used, 

 a portion of it should be scattered over the field before 

 the plants are set. An application of 500 pounds to 

 the acre at this time, applied broadcast, and a side 

 dressing about the time "buttons" begin to form, will 

 prove an advantage. The side dressing may be at the 

 rate of 500 pounds, making a total application of 1,000 

 pounds to the acre. A good fertilizer is one carrying 3 

 to 4 per cent of nitrogen, 6 to 8 per cent of phosphoric 

 acid and about 10 per cent of potash. 



Cauliflower plants in northern latitudes are handled 

 so as to prepare them either for an early or a late crop. 

 The early crop should be started at the same tune as 

 early cabbage, or a few days later. Cauliflower plants 

 cannot, however, be started in the autumn and suc- 

 cessfully wintered in coldframes, as can early cabbage 

 plants. Plants so handled are less likely to give a desira- 

 ble product. The best early-crop plants are produced 

 from hotbed or greenhouse propagated stock started 

 in a mild temperature and grown so as to produce a 

 sturdy broad-leaved plant to be set in the field a few 



845. Types of cauliflower heads: a, ricy; b, leafy; c, perfect. 



days later than the early crop of cabbage. Young cauli- 

 flower plants are less hardy than young cabbage plants 

 and, for this reason, planting in the open must be some- 

 what delayed. 



For the late cauliflower crop in the North, seed-beds 

 are prepared on the shady side of a building or in a 

 partially shaded situation and handled in same manner 

 as seed-beds for late cabbage, the late crop in the Long 

 Island region being placed in the open the last days of 

 June or early in July. 



The early crop is usually grown on a smaller scale 

 than the autumn crop. Plants grown in the hotbed are 

 usually transplanted and the transplanted plants 

 carried and set in the field by hand. The distance be- 

 tween the rows should be sufficient to permit of culti- 

 vation with horse-power implements, but the plants need ' 

 not be set more than 18 inches apart in the row. 



The late crop, however, is frequently transplanted 

 during the drier parts of the season and, largely on 

 this account, growers prefer to use a transplanting 

 machine so as to water the plants at the same time they 

 are set. A convenient distance between the rows is 3 

 feet, with the plants 20 to 24 inches apart in the row, 

 depending upon the variety grown. 



The old adage that "cabbage should be hoed every 

 day" applies with equal force to cauliflower. Cultiva- 

 tion should be of such character as to prevent the 

 formation of a crust and to discourage the development 

 of weeds. The maintenance of a soil-mulch by shallow 

 cultivation which shall not disturb or severely prune the 

 roots of the plants is desirable. 



Cauliflower is subject to the same enemies and dis- 

 eases as cabbage. Clubroot and mildew are two of the 

 most annoying diseases. The aphis, root-maggot and 

 both the green cabbage-worm and the cabbage- looper are 

 annoying pests. The delicacy of the curd requires that 

 the plants be kept perfectly free from insects which 

 devour any portion of the plant. 



Cauliflower requires more careful field attention than 

 that required by any other garden crop except those that 

 are blanched either by tying or banking. The young 

 curd of the cauliflower, as soon as it has reached the 

 size of a hen's egg, should be carefully protected from 

 the elements by adjusting the leaves in such a man- 

 ner as to prevent discoloration by the action of sun or 

 rain. The expert growers accomplish this and at the 

 same time indicate the stage of maturity of the plants 

 by different methods of folding the leaves together over 

 the curd or by tying them with different tying materials, 

 a different method being used each time the field is 

 gone over. To illustrate: the earliest developed curds 

 may be protected by tying the leaves together with rye 

 straw, the next later size may be indicated by folding 

 the leaves together over the plant, while the third may 

 be indicated by tying the leaves with raffia. Usually 

 three operations will be sufficient to care for the entire 

 season's crop. As soon as the curds have reached the 

 desired market size, which varies greatly with different 

 producers and somewhat also with different varieties 

 and is to a degree dependent upon the season and 

 fertility of the land, the plants are harvested by cutting 

 the heads with at least two or three whorls of leaves 

 attached. 



After the heads have been cut and a sufficient num- 

 ber assembled in one place to justify packing, they are 

 trimmed by using a large knife to sever the leaves just 

 above the edge of the curd so as to form a border or 

 "ruche" of leafstalks with a part of the blade attached 

 about the curd. This border of stiff green leafstalks 

 about the white curd gives it a very attractive appear- 

 ance. 



After the curds have been properly trimmed, which 

 varies somewhat with different operators, they are pro- 

 tected by the use of tea paper, either white or brown, 

 placed over the head in such a manner as to protect it 

 from dirt and contact with its neighbors. The curds 

 are then packed in crates or barrels, the California and 

 Florida product being largely packed in crates holding 

 one dozen heads in a single layer. If the heads are to 

 be packed in barrels, a layer of excelsior is first placed 

 in the barrel and the wrapped heads, curd down, are 

 carefully placed so as to form a layer resting upon the 

 excelsior over the bottom of the barrel. The next row 

 of curds is placed stem end down and curds up; on top 

 is placed another cushion of excelsior and the operation 

 repeated until the barrel is filled in such a manner as to 



